Automatic cttt-otjt



G. KRAMER.

AUTOMATIC CUT-OUT.

APPLICATION FiLED MAY 23. [91s.

Patented D66. 16, 1919.

wuamo c tikay Aimm r UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

' GEORGE KRAMER, OF SPOKANE, WASHINGTON.

AUTOMATIC cur-our.

Animation filed May 23, 1918. Serial No. 236,130.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Gnomes KRAMER, va

citizen of the United States, residing at Spokane, in the county ofSpokane and State handling plants where the coal is conveyed' inbuckets. suspended from supporting cables in railroad work, or coalingstations where the coal is conveyed to sortlng blns, etc., and thecut-out. is intended toshut off the current from a motor in theemergency of a broken or slack cable, or other defect. The inventionconsists essentially in the operat-. ing mechanism combined with theswltch 1n the electric power circuit whereby, under abnormal conditions,the operating mecha nism is automatically actuated to open the switch tobreak the circuit and thus shut off power from the motor.

In the accompanying drawings one complete example of the physicalembodiment of the invention is illustrated, constructed and arrangedaccording to the best mode so at devised for the practical applicationof the principles of the invention. In addition to the preferred form ofthe applied invention, an added figure of drawing illustratesa modifiedform of application of the invention to a switch board or switch in thecontrolling circuit of the power plant.

Figure 1 is a view, in front elevation of a switch and the operatingmechanism of the present invention applied thereto.

Fig. 2 is a view of the operating mechanism, at line 22 of Fig."

Fig. 3 is a view of they switch, the housing in section, at line 33 ofFig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a view of a modified form of'the connecting parts of theoperating mechanism with the switch in the circuit of the power .plant.

In the preferred form of the invention a;

illustrated in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, the housing 1,

or box. is employed to inclose the switch, which is shown as of theusual knife type in which thevpivoted blade or conductor 2 has a link 3pivoted thereto, and by means of a draw bar 4 and this link, the switchlever is connected with and actuated by the 7 rock bar 5 journaled at 6,in the lower end of the housing, extending therethrough, and providedwith an outer elongation or extension 5 which projects a suflicientdistance from the housing to enable the operating mechanism to beconnected therewith. The housing is supported on a suitable wall orsurface, and the switch is electrically connected as usual in the powerplant circuit in which the motor is of course included.

The switch, when the power plant isbeing operated, is normally closed,and while a manually operated switch is illustrated in the drawing, suchswitch is, tov all intents and purposes, an automatic switch in its usewith the present operating mechanism.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Dec.'16, 1919. v

The switch is designed primaril to be opened when and if the two cablesor either of them, is slacked to a certain degree, provision being madeto allow for slack to a limited degree without opening the switch. Uponthe cables are supported the usual or standard type of carriers formingpart of the conveying plant, but inasmuch as these carriers do not havea direct bearing upon the invention herein described, the are omittedfrom the illustrations.

pon each of the cables is supported a pulley or sheave, indicated by thenumerals 9 and 10, these being idle pulleys that are journaled on theshaft 11 of a yoke 12, the shaft being of considerable length to enablethe ulleys to shift laterally to compensate or and accommodate themovement of the cables as they may sway or swing laterally, as is usual.Each yoke' has an arm as 13 or 14, ivoted at 15 to a suitable-support,and t us adapted to swing vertically on this pivot, brackets '16employed to sup ort the pivots.

and 8,

A rock lever 1 whichisshown as a hand v lever i fixed on the rock'shaft5, and this I lever 17. The connection between thetwo rods and the leverarm however is not positive, as a slight lost motion is permitted, 1 andto this end the lever arm or rock lever 17 is provided with a pair oftransverse" sockets 20 through which these rods freelypass, but the rodshave spaced heads-21,

above and below the rock lever, a predetermined distance, in order topermita certain slack or movement of the suspending cables withoutmovement to the rock lever, to compensate for unavoidable movements tothe cables. If desired a weight, as 22 may be attached to the lever orrock lever 17 to aid in operating the switch lever by roviding abalancing load for.assisting in t e pull on the lever to overcomefriction.

From the above description, taken in connection with the drawings, it"will readily be seen that if the cables, or-either of them, shouldslacken or dip to an undesirable extent, due' to obstruction to a bucketor carrier, or other parts of the apparatus becoming locked, theweighted rock lever 17 is swung downwardly on its pivot to such anextent as to rock the rock bar 5, and this motion, of course istransmitted to the switch lever 2 through the draw bar-4 and link 3, asreadily understood. The switch may be closed again, by manual power,after the trouble has been remedied and the plant is again ready foroperation.

In the modified form of switch in Fig. 4 the operating lever is designedto perform the function of a release latch 17 and when either of the tworods 18 or 19 is pushed down on this latch, the switch lever 23 israised, and the circuit broken, by the spring 24. After the trouble hasbeen remedied, the

'switch may be closed pulling down on the handle 25 and the latch 17"isagain caught over the lever 23 to hold it.

By the utilization of this device the necessity for an attendant at themotor ready to shut it off i eliminated, as in case of slackening of thecables as before described,

the motor is automatically shut off. limited amount of side or lateralplay s a lowed for the cables by the employment of the long shaft forthe pulleys, and, as before stated, a limited amount of verticalmovement of the cables may. be permitted before the operating mechanismacts t shut off the power.

Claims v1. The combination with an electric switch and arock baroperatively connected with the switch and having a lever arm, of asuspended cable and pulley thereon, a yoke provided with a comparativelylong shaft for the pulley and. a. pivotal support for the yoke, apendant connecting rod pivoted to the yoke, said lever having asockettherein and said rod passing through the socket and provided withspacedheads permitting a lost motion of the rod in its actuation of the lever.

2. The combination with an, electric switch, its rock bar, and operatinglever formed with sockets, of a pair of suspended cables, a pivoted yokeand laterally movable pulley for each cable, a pair of pendantconnecting rods pivotally connected to the yokes and engaged in saidsockets, said rods each having spaced heads permitting lost motion withrelation to the lever, and a countenbalancing weight on the lever asdescribed.

In testimony whereof I afiiX my signature.

GEORGE KR-A MER.

